Thunderbolts Set to Join Marvel’s 10 Lowest Grossing Movies of All Time

Word-of-mouth and The New Avengers title change may not be enough to save Thunderbolts* at the box office as it is set to join the MCU's 10 lowest-grossing movies. Thunderbolts* brought a star-studded cast including Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes, Wyatt Russell's U.S. Agent, and Lewis Pullman's Sentry together for the MCU's latest ensemble. The movie received glowing reviews and stellar reactions from fans but has joined the MCU's growing list of box-office disappointments. 

After its seventh weekend in theaters, Thunderbolts* has grossed just over $185 million domestically and $375 million worldwide. This would make Thunderbolts* the 8th lowest grossing MCU movie, narrowly beating 2021's Black Widow ($183 million), which released simultaneously on Disney Plus' Premiere Access program) and losing to 2025's other MCU movie, Captain America: Brave New World ($200 million). 

With a $180 million production budget and 2.5 times usually being required to break even, the movie needs to gross $450 million to make its money back. While that is unlikely to happen in theaters, further earnings from home releases and streaming ought to finish Thunderbolts* with a small profit.

Unfortunately, Thunderbolts* is expected to finish its theatrical tenure far short of the $519.3 million it would need to beat Ant-Man and land in the MCU's 10 lowest-grossing movies of all time.

Here are the current 10 lowest-grossing MCU movies of all time (excluding Thunderbolts* as its theatrical run is still incomplete):

10.) Ant-Man

• Domestic Box Office: $180.2 million
• Worldwide Box Office: $519.3 million
• Budget: $130 million

$519.3 million is the number to beat for Thunderbolts* to outgross Ant-Man and miss out on the MCU's lowest-grossing movies, which seems unlikely. The shrinking flick turned over a solid box office run after Avengers: Age of Ultron, bringing in what came to be a popular new hero for a more light-hearted comedy.

9.) Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania

• Domestic Box Office: $214.5 million
• Worldwide Box Office: $476.1 million
• Budget: $200 million

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania was meant to be a triumphant outing to kickstart Phase 5 and tee up Jonathan Majors' Kang as Avengers 5's villain. But disappointing reviews, unexciting trailers, and Majors' domestic abuse arrest all contributed to giving it a disappointing box office run. The movie looks set to fall into the MCU's more forgotten outings, especially with Kang's future abandoned.

8.) Thor

• Domestic Box Office: $181 million
• Worldwide Box Office: $449.3 million 
• Budget: $150 million

Thor took the MCU in a vastly different direction with a Shakespearean epic taking place in the Kingdom of Asgard. Despite laying the groundwork for The Avengers in introducing Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Tom Hiddleston's Loki, it still falls into the upper end of the MCU's lowest-grossing movies.

7.) Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

• Domestic Box Office: $224.5 million
• Worldwide Box Office: $432.2 million
• Budget: $150 million

Given the circumstances surrounding its release, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings performed rather well. Despite lacking an iconic superhero or much A-list star power, it managed to turn over $432.2 million when theaters were still suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Shang-Chi was widely praised and even earned director Destin Daniel Cretton the top job on a major 2026 MCU movie.

6.) Captain America: Brave New World

• Domestic Box Office: $200.5 million
• Worldwide Box Office: $415.1 million
• Budget: $180 million

Unfortunately, Anthony Mackie's first solo movie in the Stars and Stripes, Captain America: Brand New World, struggled to match expectations. Despite pitting Captain America against the Red Hulk in a political conspiracy thriller while bringing Harrison Ford to the MCU, it still falls on the lower end of the MCU and may have ended up losing money for Disney.

5.) Eternals

• Domestic Box Office: $164.9 million
• Worldwide Box Office: $402.1 million
• Budget: $200 million

Marvel Studios bet big on Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao to introduce ten new god-like heroes to the MCU with Eternals. The big-budget blockbuster struggled to deliver just $402.1 million worldwide, despite its massive cast of stars such as Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, and Kit Harington. While Eternals faced an uphill battle due to COVID-19, its chances of a sequel appear slim. 

4.) Black Widow

• Domestic Box Office: $163.7 million
• Worldwide Box Office: $379.8 million 
• Budget: $200 million

After numerous delays, Black Widow finally hit theaters in July 2021 as one of the first blockbusters to be released following the COVID-19 pandemic. Given its tough circumstances, Black Widow's box office results aren't actually too bad, especially as it simultaneously hit Disney+ Premier Access for paid at-home viewing.

3.) Captain America: The First Avenger

• Domestic Box Office: $176.7 million 
• Worldwide Box Office: $370.6 million 
• Budget: $140 million

Much like other Phase 1 flicks, Captain America: The First Avenger comes from an era before The Avengers exploded the MCU into its heyday when the studio's only crazy success was the Iron Man franchise. That said, it lands as one of the MCU's lowest-grossing movies, even though it led right into a big win with The Avengers.

2.) The Incredible Hulk

• Domestic Box Office: $134.8 million
• Worldwide Box Office: $264.8 million
• Budget: $137.5 million

The Incredible Hulk came from a very different era before the MCU brand was established and when the franchise's only movie was Iron Man. The gamma-infused blockbuster became one of the MCU's more forgotten movies, at least that was the case until The Incredible Hulk got an unexpected sequel in 2025.

1.) The Marvels

• Domestic Box Office: $84.5 million
• Worldwide Box Office: $206.1 million 
• Budget: $270 million

Despite being a sequel to the billion-dollar-grossing Captain Marvel, the union of Carol Danvers, Kamala Khan, and Monica Rambeau wasn't enough to save The Marvels from box office disaster. The all-female ensemble is the lowest-grossing MCU blockbuster and reportedly lost Disney around $237 million, hitting a disastrous box office milestone for Marvel Studios.

Thunderbolts*'s Box Office Struggles Could Change Superhero Movies Forever

Despite featuring mostly C-list anti-heroes and villains, Thunderbolts* had plenty going for it that could have made it a huge box office success. The MCU ensemble has a star-studded cast, received glowing reactions, impressed fans with the trailers, and was paving the way for Avengers: Doomsday next year.

The box office struggles of Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World, along with most of DC's latest movies, have proven that ordinary moviegoers simply won't turn up for every superhero movie anymore.

As superhero fatigue sets in and theater prices rise, fans seem to be saving their money for other movies and the genre's biggest offerings such as Deadpool & Wolverine, holding out for streaming and digital releases to enjoy the rest.

Hopefully, The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be able to get Marvel Studios back on track at the box office ahead of Avengers: Doomsday. Unlike Thunderbolts*, those flicks will star more iconic heroes, but one has to wonder if two divisive adaptations of the Fantastic Four under Fox could hurt its chances.

Meanwhile, there's no doubt that DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn will be crossing his fingers that Superman can finally break DC's streak of flops this summer.

Regardless, as more superhero movies continue to flop, studios may grow more cautious of which characters receive big-budget blockbusters.

That isn't to say smaller characters can't still lead theatrical releases, as is clear by DC Studios' plans to release a horror starring Batman villain Clayface. However, the DCU flick is reportedly being made on a staggeringly low $40 million while most superhero flicks cost from $150 to $250 million.

This may be a sign of things to come at both DC and Marvel Studios if the box office performance of average superhero movies doesn't improve.